Preflop Raises in Limit Hold’em: Part II

In my column last issue, we took a general look at preflop raising, and the primary reasons for raising before the flop:

1. To build a pot
2. To win the blinds
3. To gain position
4. To gain control of the post-flop betting
5. To isolate an opponent
6. To create a false impression

We now will take a look at each of these reasons, with this column focusing specifically on the first — to build a pot. Specifically, I will discuss how and when to raise, and when not to do so.

When you ask most players, they say that nearly all of their raises are to make the pot bigger. That’s a good reason, but certainly not the only one.

When to raise: Many players will say that you should raise to make the pot bigger because you are a favorite to win it. That is a good reason, but not the only one.

As a general rule, raises to enlarge the pot should be made from late position. If you raise with pocket aces from under the gun, you may end up building a pot, but it should not be your objective. You make that raise to discourage others from entering. True, in some games, nobody will fold no matter what you do, but that is not the general case.

If you raise with the same hand from late position with several early limpers, you definitely are doing so to make the pot larger. The limpers will usually call, and the players behind you know that the pot will be big, so they feel encouraged to play, as well.

Hands to raise: So, with which hands should you make this raise after more than two players have limped? Large pocket pairs — specifically, A-A, K-K, and Q-Q. You raise with them because your expectation is large, you figure to have the best hand, and you ultimately will extract more than your fair share from the large pot, even though you will frequently not win it.

Next, raise with large hybrid hands — specifically, A-K suited, A-Q suited, and K-Q suited. These hands play well in volume pots because they not only can make a pair with a large kicker, but also can make an occasional large flush. The combination of these two possible ways to win makes these hands very powerful in this situation.

That pretty much wraps up the hands that you should always raise. Now, we can look at hands that you can raise occasionally. From the cutoff or button, after several limpers, you can occasionally raise with medium pocket pairs (J-J, 10-10, 9-9, 8-8, and 7-7), and even medium suited connectors (A-J suited, J-10 suited, and 10-9 suited). I am a bit reluctant to mention them here, as your motive for raising is not limited to simply building the pot. We will revisit these hands when we discuss some of the other reasons to raise.

Hands not to raise: That concludes the list, but I need to discuss some hands with which many players misguidedly raise to build a pot. Of course, since this is my column, you get my opinion, but many others disagree with me, so consider the arguments and reach your own conclusions.

They are big offsuit hands — specifically, A-K and A-Q, although some players like to throw in a raise with A-J. They believe that they probably have the best hand, and that since some of the limpers have hands like J-6 suited and K-3 offsuit, they should be “punished” by the raise. The theory goes that these pot-building raises eventually make money for the best hand preflop.

The problem with pot-building raises with big unsuited hands is that they do not enable you to play strategically post-flop. When you hold one of these hands, you will fail to flop a pair or better about two-thirds of the time. Assuming that you miss and everyone checks to you (which they often do), you frequently will not know what to do. Should you bet — sending a message of strength that’s consistent with your preflop raise, but not with your current holding — or should you check, taking the free card, but fully disclosing the type of hand that you hold?

Perhaps worse, when you do make a pair, you really do not want everyone to check to you. You would much prefer that someone who flopped a lower pair or the same pair with a worse kicker bet, so that you can raise, thus presenting the remaining players with a double-sized bet. When everyone checks to you and you bet, the next player gets excellent odds to play almost any draw.

Let’s look at the math. Assume that you raise preflop and six players call (including the blinds). The pot contains 14 bets. Now, you flop a pair and bet after everyone checks to you. You give the next player 15-1 pot odds, which is a great current price to continue with a gutshot or a hand like 10-6 that hit one pair. It is arguably acceptable for 23-1 draws such as runner-runner flush or pocket underpairs to call, as they are likely to be getting correct implied odds. Even a dominated payer, holding K-9 to your A-K after a king flops, is getting the right price to chase.

Now let’s look at the situation if you did not raise and flopped a pair. Since there is no reason for the others to check to you, assume that someone bets and there is one caller, thus putting nine bets in the pot. You raise, which presents the next player with 5.5-1 pot odds, thus forcing him to fold the draws that we just discussed, or make a mistake by calling. Even if the other players check to you for some reason, your bet offers only 8-1 pot odds, which is a far cry from 15-1.

Since much of your profit in poker comes from your opponents’ errors, and one of their most common errors is calling incorrectly on the flop, not raising means that you either thin the field considerably or force most opponents into making an error. When you raised and built a pot, you made it almost impossible for anyone to make an error by calling.

The result of your preflop raise in many cases when you do hit your pair is to force opponents who are inclined to make mistakes by chasing to make the right play. You may ask, “Doesn’t this argument hold true when you hold a big pair?” In part it does, but with a big pair, you do not miss the flop two times out of three. You always have a pair after the flop, and 12 percent of the time, you have a set, which means that you want them to chase. Thus, the strength of your hand actually causes your opponents to make a huge error before the flop, which balances things out.

Next issue, we will conclude our examination of pot-building preflop raises by looking at these raises from the blinds, and then continue with the list.

Barry Tanenbaum is the author of Advanced Limit Hold’em Strategy, and collaborator on Limit Hold’em: Winning Short-Handed Strategies. Barry offers private lessons tailored to the individual student. Please see his website, www.barrytanenbaum.com, or write to him at [email protected].